


The Most Fragile Flower

by WarioGirl



Category: Cars (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-30 00:40:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15085259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WarioGirl/pseuds/WarioGirl
Summary: Shu Todoroki invites his little sister, Peach, to experience the impact of the dramatic and empowering event of the first World Grand Prix. There, she meets many new faces, including Francesco. This tale opens a window onto a half-hidden world of the Grand Prix Racers.[THIS STORY WAS WRITTEN IN 2016]-CAST-Sakura 'Peach' Todoroki (C) Wario-GirlIvy (C) Queen KoopaEvie (C) Thr-Dark-Fallen





	1. PRELUDE

**Prelude**

_It was sunny again. The best time of the day, when the morning sun had just crested the eastern mountains and was blasting heat down into the valley. The kitchen had three tall windows that caught the light full on, and on summer days like this one it transformed the room into a haven of cosy, sluggish heat as they breakfasted. They were resting at a table of smoothed wood, with melted honeycomb and cream in pitchers next to pancakes and Imagawayaki, waffles filled with sweet azuki bean paste. The floor and walls were of plain varnished planks, but rugs and pictures kept the room lively, and a stove sat comfortably at one end. Outside, the sound of insects and laughter could be faintly heard._

_Mount Asama. Home. It was the best and only place in the world to Peach._

_She glanced at her older brother, who was sitting next to her by the table. The twelve-year old Le Motor Prototype was eating cheerfully, his hood and mouth smeared in honey. He stuck his tongue out at her as he caught her gaze, and she giggled, punching his fender underneath the table._

_“Don’t start, you two,” Said their mother from where she stood at the stove._

_“Shu started it!” Peach exclaimed, as she gave her big brother a playful glare. Shu smirked._

_“Mother, Peach glared at me!” He snickered, seeing her rounded face tighten angrily at the false accusation._

_“Sakura, behave. Shu, leave your sister alone,” Their mother replied._

_Peach and Shu fixed a glare at each other, and both sparked a smile of joy.  Peach’s real name was Sakura, but because of her rounded chassis, which sharply contrasted against Shu’s chassis, Shu had given her the nickname “Peach”, which everyone in the village came to call her. Shu was always how she remembered him; always towering over her, lean and broad just like their father. His deep brown eyes were always her favourite part of him. They always spoke of tranquillity and gifted knowledge, but they also possessed a strange childish sense of humour that only she could see. She recalled perfectly, whenever she was sad or crying, his eyes seemed to have calmed down, along with his soft-bass voice. Her big brother was her hero. She always wanted to be like him!_

_Peach spooned another mound of cream and honey into her mouth, her huge silvery-blue eyes fixed onto Shu. He glanced at the corner of his eyes and they locked gazes again. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, a smirk ran on his fender and he revved his engine noisily, startling her and he laughed._

_“Meanie!” She piped up, and hit him with her tyre again._

_The door to the hallway opened then, and their father came in. He was an old Le Motor Prototype, his paint-job the shades of silvers and greys. That’s how Shu and Peach got their chassis frames from. Although Shu took most of his father, their facial expressions and personalities contrasted sharply. Their father’s beady eyes glared through his glasses as he parked before the table opposite the young children, and didn’t say anything, just glared disapprovingly at everyone and everything until Peach got bored of watching him._

_Instead, she turned her attention to their mother. She was doing something on the stove, but Peach couldn’t see what. That was no surprise; everything her mother did was done in the kitchen. Her large innocent eyes fixed onto their mother’s back, and suddenly she felt a terrible desire to see the face of the vehicle by the stove, the REAL face…_

_…All of them except for Peach turned to the door expectantly; but as it swung open, Peach felt an awful wrench somewhere inside her, and time seemed suddenly to decelerate hard. The sun slipped behind a thick cloud and the room darkened. Driving in, as if through syrup, was Mach Matsuo. Peach remembered him. He was the one who won many Grand Prix Races in the name of Japan. A very famous race-car. Dreamlike, he left streamers of himself behind as he drove towards the table, wisps and after-images. And it radiated a chill that had nothing to do with temperature._

_“Your son Shu would make an excellent Racer, Mr Todoroki!” Mach exclaimed to their father. Their father nodded._

_“I agree. I give you permission to make my son useful. He had never done me proud,” Their father muttered lowly, as his eyes followed Mach dispassionately, as he lunged past their mother and Peach. Peach watched in horror as she saw Shu’s good-natured expression suddenly becoming dark, emotions draining out of his colourful eyes and he froze in shock, his pupils dinted as tears edged the corners of his eyes. With that, several more shadowy figures emerged from the door and darted around Shu, taking Shu, picking up his young chassis and carried him out of the door. Shu did not scream or struggle, showing no sign of resistance as he was dragged away from her; but she cried out at the sudden loss, scrambling from the table and chased out of the door and into the twilight. For Mount Asama was gone now, and they ran under the cold eye of the Tokyo sun._

_“Nii-Sama!” She shrieked for her big brother._

_She chased after the shadows, impossibly fast, streaking away from her with her brother lying calmly in the crook of the multiple cars. She felt a stab of pain, as if someone had thrust a knife in her hood and held it there, twisting gradually more and more as the distance between them increased. Desperate to end or at least reduce the agony, she sped after. Her tiny tyres carrying her across the stony ground, but she could not catch up with him. And then, suddenly, the ground betrayed her, and her tyre shot out through the darkness and finally grabbed his, pulling him back from the abyss of dread, suddenly feeling…_

_…safe. Close with her big brother, her fender sleepily on Shu’s callused tyre, dozing in the hypnotic warmth of a blazing fire. It had been a hard day of work and play, and though she hasn’t slept by her brother for years, she found herself drowsing now on the big, old mat that their father had brought back from his travels in Italy one day._

_Shu whispered something to her, and though she heard what was being said, it didn’t register in her sleep-fogged mind._

_“Aw, Onee-Chan…” She could feel Shu’s smile in his voice. “I will come back and get you. I promise…”_

_For some reason, that sentence evoked a dread in Peach such as she has never felt before. She wanted to wake up, wanted to scream ‘No! Don’t leave me!’ But she couldn’t._

_She felt a small kiss on her fender, and Shu’s smile dropped._

_“I’m sorry, Onee-Chan…”_

_I’m sorry too, big brother…_

_Onee-Chan…_

_Little Sister…_

_…_

“Onee-Chan? Peach-Chan, wake up…”


	2. Chapter 1:  The Sweetest Peach

**Chapter 1:**

**The Sweetest Peach**

Peach was awoken by a tyre nudging her, shaking her gently.

“Peach-Chan, wake up…”

It was Shu. The soft glow from the lights outlined his broad chassis and hood. They were inside a Plane, travelling towards Tokyo. The Grand Prix’s first race was set in Tokyo the following day. Tonight was the night Shu and Peach were going to greet the other Racers. Peach’s azure eyes focused on her brother, who was smiling. His chassis was decorated with the Red Dragon Ka-Riu, a signature for his fierce and competitive nature. He wore a badge symbolising his country, along with the ‘Allinol’ company, the very origin of the Grand Prix Race.

Shu stared back at his little sister. She had small, pretty features, and wide eyes. Her eyes were the most peculiar. Instead of dark brown like every other Asian Car, she possessed her mother’s eyes, a silvery-blue. They were lovely eyes, surrounded by thick lashes, which were startlingly beautiful. At the side of her eyes, the striking ornament of pink cherry blossom flowers hung there. Her white chassis was painted with the beautiful touches of vines and cherry blossom flowers. Shu smiled again. He had always seen their mother in Peach’s chassis. Shu had his mother’s pouty mouth, but their father’s angular fenders, which gave the impression of a delicate picture with a too-heavy frame.

The smell of vanilla was thick in the air, keeping the interior of the First-Class section beautifully fresh. Peach blinked, disentangling herself from the warm embrace of sleep.

“We are nearly here. You wished for me to wake you up ten minutes before we land,” Shu recalled in his deep-bass voice. Peach nodded and yawned.

“Thank you, Nii-Sama.” Peach replied, turning to the window to see where they were. The twilight crept in from Tokyo, and shaded the night with purples, blues and sometimes silver. Like a thick velvet cloak it muted all sounds, so that the evening was tranquil and hushed. Before them was the ocean, stretching away for ever, a carpet of glittering cobalt in the rising moon. On the distance horizon, wispy clouds drifted, the only indicator of where the sea ended and the sky began. The powdery clouds covered her view, but she saw a thousand lights faintly penetrated through the clouds, and she assumed they were close.

The plane began to slow, and Tokyo City neared.

She closed her eyes, thinking about that terrible dream.

*

When Shu and Peach’s plane landed, Peach was almost too afraid to set her tyres onto the city grounds. Shu smiled, understanding her fear and gently nudged her into the new lands with his tyres. Peach could barely wait the last few seconds before Tokyo City came into view. She’d heard so much about it; she’d waited so long to go there, to leave the confines of Mount Asama where she had spent her whole life. She was still reeling when, suddenly, Tokyo City was before her.

She came out of the airport into the cool night, stopping under the star-laden sky for a moment to take in the scenery before her. She gasped, and she heard Shu chuckle behind her, finding her reaction adorable and brushed past her. Countless lights bathed the city in their pale colourful luminescence. The cool city breeze gently buffeted her hood. In the distant, she saw the graceful mountain, Fuji peaking from the towering buildings of Tokyo. Built at the foot of the mountain, the buildings and streets swarmed with cars. Everything was brightly lit with colourful lights, glows of turquoise to gold to brilliant red beamed all around them, lighting the city.

“Peach-Chan,” Shu’s voice called for her, and she blinked out of her faze and looked at her brother, who was already ahead of her.

At length, Peach worked up the courage and slowly rolled beside Shu.

They joined the flow of traffic. Peach had no idea what time it was, but here it seemed that the commerce was in full swing. They were soon surrounded by the constant jabber of cars, and the heaving sea of multicoloured hoods surged around them.

It was an amazing sight for Peach, because although she didn’t know it, she was seeing for the first time one of the most exclusive cities in the entire world. Shu had been in Tokyo before. When Shu was younger, he used to run away from their home in the middle of the night to drift with his friends in Tokyo. Peach saw him once and attempted to follow them without them noticing. Of course, sneaking behind Shu was like walking through the forest to pursuit an army in a brightly-coloured paintjob. He wasn’t happy. Besides, even she knew she could never catch up with Shu’s remarkable speed. Even at that age, he was very fast. In the distance, a metallic tower stood proudly in the centre of the city, illuminated in the colours of dazzling orange, red and yellow.

“What is that?” Peach asked Shu, looking at the tower.

“That’s Tokyo Tower,” Shu replied, as if it was obvious. 

Peach made a bemused noise.

They were jostled by the plentiful residents of Tokyo, they passed a long row of street-vending machines, providing tyres, fuel and even spark-plugs, all advertised with cute animated characters. Mini cars decorated in neon lights and creative paintjobs hustled passed them, and Peach beamed, utterly amazing with the amount of colours around her. Tokyo was more beautiful than she had ever imagined. 

Shu occasionally glanced back at Peach, but she was too drawn to the limitless lights and stores that surrounded them, she was so amazed, she said nothing, just utter happiness was plastered on her hood, and it warmed his heart up.

Several times, they were crowded by small import cars, screaming for Shu and demanding an autograph from him. Shu was humbled by this, and occasionally introduced his sister. Photos were taken and they continued to drive.

Finally, the traffic became sparser as it got less and less squashed together. A little while longer, and finally Shu and Peach were greeted by an enormous dome-shape building that was made out of glass. Around them were mountains, dividing the building from the busy city of Tokyo. Behind the building stretched the darkened carpet of the ocean again. Several spotlights shone through the skies, and Shu smirked.

“Here we are, Peach-Chan,” He told her. Peach smiled, seeing the building before her.

“Is this where the party is?”

“Yes.” Shu chuckled. “Now, don’t get lost, okay?”

“Okay!” Peach beamed excitingly. She remained close to Shu as they drove onto the red carpet towards the entrance of the building. Behind them was a large billboard, advertising the World Grand Prix. The moment they drove across the carpet, someone cried out.

“It’s Number Seven! Japan’s Racer: Shu Todoroki!”

Suddenly, Shu and Peach were bombarded by the constant flashes of cameras and the voices calling for Shu.

“S-Shu-Sama?!” Peach gasped, her voice filling up with panic as she tried to shuffle behind him. Shu nuzzled beside her.

“Do not fear, Onee-Chan. Just smile for the camera.” Was all Shu said before someone cried out for him. He turned to see a BMW interviewer, a microphone lifted towards Shu. Shu modestly bowed to them, and Peach followed his formality.

“Shu Todoroki! Have you made you’re decision to attend the World Grand Prix?” An interviewer asked loudly. Shu smiled.

“I have. I wish to attend the World Grand Prix in honour of my Crew-Chief, Mach-Sama.”

Another flood of questions that Peach couldn’t decode, along with several more flashes of the cameras. 

“Shu Todoroki, who is this girl?” Another interviewer cried out. Shu chuckled, rolling beside Peach, who slightly shied away from the strange cameras and flushed to see so many eyes on her.

“This is my good-luck charm, my little sister, Peach,” Shu replied politely, and smiled at Peach. “She will be attending my races.” He added. “Now, please excuse us. We have a party to attend to,”

“Mr. Todoroki! Mr. Todoroki!” Another interviewer called out. “Before you leave, may we take a picture with your sister please?”

“Of course,” Shu chuckled and turned to Peach. She looked at him shyly, but his smile and eyes somehow helped her muster the courage to stand beside Shu and smiled, posing for the picture. After that, they finally entered the building.

“You will get used to the cameras, Peach-Chan,” Shu told her. Peach glared at him.

“They startled me,” She pouted and Shu chuckled.

“They startled me too, Onee-Chan, but you will get used to it.”

As they entered the building, they were greeted by three mini-cars, Geishas to be exact. Peach stared at the beautiful outfits they wore. They were dressed in beautiful red, blue and purple kimonos with a simple pattern in gold. They wore the white make-up, with hair ornaments, flowers dangling down along with chop-sticks. The three of them bowed down to Shu and Peach politely, and they bowed back.

As they followed the path towards the main-hall, Peach was still amazed with the sightings; lights of all different colours shone around them, and muffled noises of cars socializing together and oriental music was in the air. The party was huge. Cars from all around the world were there, including Ferraris and Mustangs. Metallic statues of wheels and ratchets towered over the entire room, their silver refracting the lights into a dazzling beam. Spotlights danced on the floor and the room was lit in the blue-hue. In the centre of the room, a Zen-garden was surrounded in some sort of glass-housing. Inside, Peach saw the Zen-Master combing the Zen-Garden.   

“Shu-Sama!” Peach called out. “This is amazing!”

“I know.” Shu agreed, looking up to the large orbs of the paper-lanterns above him. In the distance, elevators moved up and down, in the forms of giant pistons. Peach giggled, excited to see so many new faces.

“Shu!” A voice called out. It was a British accent. Shu and Peach spun around to see a dark-green Aston Martin DBR9 rolling towards them. He had the Union-Jack flag printed on his hood, and he proudly wore the number 9 on his sides. His smile sparked from under his black moustache-feature. It didn’t take long for Shu to realise who it was.

“Nigel-San!” Shu greeted happily, and the two cars chuckled together. Nigel Gearsley bowed down to Shu, respecting his fellow racer and Shu bowed back to him. 

“How have you been, me old bean? Smashing party!” Nigel smiled. Shu nodded.

“It is. We have just arrived, but this is amazing!” Shu commented. Nigel laughed and then saw Peach beside Shu. Nigel blinked, and then he flashed a smile.

“Ah, I see this is the little sister of Shu?” Nigel said. Shu chuckled lightly.

“Yes. Peach, this is Nigel Gearsley. He and I once raced at the Le Mans race in England.” Shu introduced. Peach nodded, and bowed down to him.

“It’s very nice to meet you, Mr Gearsley,” Peach managed to speak out. Nigel burst out laughing, which startled her.

“Now, poppet, I don’t want to hear this ‘Mr. Gearsley’. We are a family here now. Just call me Nigel, okay?”

“O-Okay,” Peach stammered shyly. Shu smiled.

“Peach has never been to a party before. She has never engaged with so many cars before, please excuse her shyness.”

“Don’t worry, Shu. I understand perfectly.” Nigel grinned. “Hey, I used to be very shy myself.”

Peach blinked. It was hard to believe it. She couldn’t imagine Nigel being shy. She shook her hood and turned to Shu, who was too busy chatting with Nigel. “So, Shu, how do you feel about the race tomorrow?” Nigel asked. They began to chat about racing techniques, something Peach didn’t really understand. Instead, she gazed around the scenery before her. As she followed them, she looked up to see someone.

Before her, on a stage, was a formula one racer. His image was being projected onto the screen behind him. Her eyes fell onto the racer himself. Peach felt a wave of heat rush through her chassis when she saw him. He was very handsome; his slender yet powerful chassis was just a bonus for the ladies. Her eyes saw his open-wheels, and blushed to find them suddenly attractive. His chassis was built of bone-smooth metal, and he had a face that could have been carved out of by angels.

She wasn’t listening to Nigel and Shu anymore. She was ignoring the voices around her and watched the formula one racer chat with a few people. And that was when their eyes met. His deep-brown eyes locked with her silvery-blue eyes and she flushed brightly and turned away, shying away.

They allowed themselves to be led across the room, Peach trailing behind Nigel and Shu. Peach was frowning at the gauzing image of the formula one car up ahead, chasing a thought that she couldn’t quiet pin down, when Shu suddenly said: “That’s Francesco Bernoulli. He was on the Mel Dorado show,” and nailed it for her.

“ _That_ is where I have seen him,” Peach said. Then out of the corner of her eyes, she caught sight of Francesco’s face, jet eyes watching her with amusement, and soon, his gaze softened. His lips pursed out flirtatiously, giving her the impression of ‘kissy-kissy’ lips, his eyes seductive. Peach felt her chassis tremble and nearly crashed into the back of Shu, who had stopped abruptly in front of her.

“Whoa! You okay, poppet?” Nigel piped up.

“Y-yes, I am okay, thank you,” Peach stuttered, glancing at Francesco. She saw him chuckle and soon, turned away. Shu cocked a brow and looked up to see Peach looking at Francesco. Nigel seemed to have read Shu’s thoughts.

“Would you like to meet him?” Nigel asked. “After all, we will be racing with him. It would be smashing to meet the competitors while we are here,”

“Okay,” Peach and Shu beamed. Nigel led them towards the Italian racer. Peach’s flush deepened and she felt her hood prickle as they got closer to the Italian racer.

“Francesco!” Nigel called out loudly, catching his attention. Francesco turned around and saw Nigel, grinning.

“Ah, Nigel! _Buona sera!_ ” Francesco greeted, equally loudly. The three of them gathered towards Francesco.

“Good evening to you too,” Nigel grinned, endlessly happy. He pointed at Shu. “Here, I would like to introduce to you, Shu Todoroki.”

Shu smiled and bowed down.

“Ah, is-a this the Japanese racer?” Francesco questioned, looking at Nigel. Nigel nodded.

“Indeed he is, poppet.”

Francesco eyed Shu for a time before his smile became wry.

“It is an honour, _Signore_ Shu. For you.” He smirked, almost mockingly. Shu subsided. “You are not as handsome as Francesco assumed. Good looking like-a McQueen, but not handsome.”

The comment irritated Shu, but he did well to cover it. Instead, Shu faked a laugh. Peach blinked. It was then Nigel turned to Peach. He didn’t seem to have noticed Francesco’s subliminal insults.

“And this is Shu’s little sister, Sakura,”

Francesco’s dark eyes fell onto Peach and ran over her curvilinear chassis and another wave of heat flowed through her. Her mouth watered. She suddenly loved the seductive look in his eyes.

“P-Please, call me, Peach. Everyone does.” Peach giggled shyly.

“ _Bellissima!_ ” Francesco gasped. “It is-a official! You are the most beautiful thing an Italian racer like-a Francesco has-a ever laid eyes on! _Sei molto bella!_ ” Francesco commented, and gave Peach his ‘come-to-bed’ eyes. Peach narrowed her eyes, unsure what the Italian F1 racer said. Shu frowned darkly, not liking the way Francesco was giving his little sister ‘the eyes’.

“E-Excuse me?” Peach giggled nervously. Francesco smirked seductively, and rolled closer to her, whispering to her so that Shu and Nigel could not hear him. He knew Shu was giving him dagger-eyes, but he played along carelessly.

“You are very beautiful…” He smirked sexily and Peach felt her hood go bright red. It was the first time anyone has complimented on Peach, and she was unsure how to react.

“T-Thank you…Francesco-Sama…”

The words were meant for Peach, but Shu overhead them; and somewhere inside him, a cold, cold flame ignited.

He didn’t get angry. That was Francesco’s style, not his. He was always the calm one. And so, very, very, calmly, Shu clenched his teeth.

“Isn’t this a smashing party, Francesco?” Nigel asked. Francesco nodded.

“Yes, yes, very well.” He said dismissively, his eyes returning to Peach. The constant attention from Francesco was beginning to unease Peach. He didn’t say anything, but he wiggled his brows as Nigel, once again, spoke to him.

“My, my, Francesco, wasn’t that Lightening McQueen you were talking to before?”

Shu hushed in a deadly silence, his eyes burning on Francesco like a twig on fire. He bit his lip back, feeling his calm, content temperament slowly fading. He tried to distract himself by gazing at the other racers beyond. He saw a rusty Tow-Truck driving upwards towards the upper-level. He frowned, wondering who he was with. It was most peculiar.

“Yes, he was…” Francesco commented again, his voice trailing away, his eyes never leaving Peach. “Hmm, Francesco likes-a Peach’s chassis. Very curvy. Such a…” he chuckled sexily, his eyes almost hungry on her. “Such a peachy-bumper. Francesco likes-a dis bumper.”

Shu suddenly felt something snap inside of him, and instantly drove between Peach and Francesco, his eyes piercing Francesco.

“We better get moving,” He told Francesco, though the tone of his voice clearly said: You better stay away! Francesco chuckled at ease, showing no fear, which annoyed Shu more.

“Oh, of course!” Nigel chuckled, clearly unaware of the tension between Shu and Francesco. “We better get ready for the ceremony. Tatty-Byes, Francesco.”

Francesco nodded.

“I shall see you at the finish-line, Nigel.” He chuckled, and turned to Peach, who was blushing. Her mouth locked. She was far too shy. “Ciao, my little Bella,” He said lovingly, knowing how much that title would irritate Shu. Francesco winked at Peach, smiling sexily at her, and finally, he turned to Shu, his eyes suddenly changing sardonic. “Ciao, Todoroki.” Francesco said frostily, giving him a nasty smile.

“ _Sayonara, Baka_ …” Shu hissed darkly. Peach was startled to hear Shu’s comment. She sensed the anger in his voice, but before she could say something he had already stormed away. Nigel and Peach followed Shu. Even then, Peach could feel Francesco’s hungry eyes locked onto her.

 

 

 

 


	3. Chapter 2:  The Seeds of the World Grand Prix

**Chapter 2:**

**The Seeds of the World Grand Prix**

“Why did you call him an idiot?” Peach whispered, as she slid next to her brother. When Shu glanced at her, it was clear to her that he didn’t wish to talk to her about Francesco. They locked into a gaze until finally, in defeat, he sighed heavily.

“How dare that Italian approaches my little sister in such a rude manner?” Shu grumbled. “If this was not such a nice welcome party, I would have threw him across the room and I-”

“Ah, that reminds me!” Nigel abruptly burst out, suddenly jamming himself in-between the Japanese siblings. “Speaking of sisters, I almost forgot to introduce my little sister to you two.”

Shu looked at Nigel in surprise.

“You have a sister too?”

“Oh yes indeed. She just popped into the ladies not so long ago.” Nigel leaned in to Shu, snickering. “Little sisters can be such a handful, right?” He and Shu shared a laugh together. Shu seemed to have shaken off his gloom and suddenly became bright again. Nigel saw Peach’s playful glare and he chuckled, facing her. “You know I’m kidding, poodles.”

“’Scuse me!” A voice called out from the distance.     

As if on cue, Peach began to hear a British accent similar to Nigel’s from behind in the distance. She turned back to see a chirpy Aston Martin Virage, her paintjob the shock of jade-green. She was a bright-eyed girl, zooming through a cluster of red Ferraris, hollering at them to move. Peach blinked. She didn’t expect to see such a loud, young female Aston Martin. Well, she didn’t expect any of it. Coming from a strict background, she didn’t know females were allowed to be noisy and so expressive. It startled her.

As the female Aston Martin skidded to a halt next to Nigel, she flashed a bright beam.

“There you are, brother!” The female Aston Martin said cheekily.

“Ahh, poppet, there _you_ are!” Nigel smiled. “Don’t tell me you got stuck in the ladies again…” He added with a chuckle.

The female Aston Martin’s hood went pink.

“Well, sorry. The toilets are a little confusing.” She answered, and observed the two new faces. “Oh, hello! Nigie, who are your friends?”

“Ahh, Evie,” Nigel said, nudging Shu with his tyre. “This old chap is Shu Todoroki. Remember, the Japanese racer?”

“Oh yes, of course, I remember him,” Evie piped up happily. “Very nice to meet you.”

Shu smiled modestly and bowed down to her.

“Hello,” Shu greeted in his gentle voice, smiling. Evie bowed back to him.  

“ _Kon’nichiwa,_ ” Evie greeted back. Shu looked up from his bow and smiled.

“Very good,” Shu grinned, impressed. Evie giggled. Nigel then pointed his tyre towards Peach, who also bowed down after Shu. Evie bowed back respectfully.

“And this here is Shu’s little sister, Peach.” Nigel introduced. He leaned over to Evie, whispering from the corner of his mouth, loud enough for Shu and Peach to hear, as if implying to be comical. “Her real name is Sakura, but call her Peach.”

Peach and Shu overheard Nigel and both gave him a smirk.

“Aww, Peach is such a cute nickname,” Evie giggled. Peach blushed at the compliment and giggled too.

“Thank you,” Peach managed to utter shyly.

“Where did the nickname Peach come from, chap?” Nigel asked Shu. Shu snickered at the memory of their childhood as he recalled it crystal-clear.

“To cut a long story short, she grew out. She was fat.” He was sharply interrupted when Peach smacked her tyre at the side of Shu, and he chuckled. “I kid. I kid. Peach’s chassis was much more smoother and had as many curves as our mother. She reminded me of a Peach. So, I always called her Peach. Through that, our village back on Mount Asama grew to call her that.”

“It’s better than Sakura, anyway…” Peach muttered under her breath. 

“Sakura’s a smashing name, poppet,” Nigel replied, smiling. “But we’ll call you Peach,”

“So, this is the infamous little sister of Nigel Gearsley?” Shu commented, changing the subject. Evie looked up, startled for a moment before cheekily grinning.

“Oh, come now, what have you been telling people, Nigie?” Evie giggled, playfully glaring at Nigel. Peach blinked to see the relationship between the two Gearsley siblings. It was some sort of strong contrast between her own relationship with Shu compared to Evie and her brother. Somehow, she sensed if she acted the way Evie did, Shu wouldn’t have approved of it. Just like the nickname ‘Nigie’. Then again, when she was a child, Peach did call Shu ‘Boot’ once, as in mockery of his name. She regretted that as he chased her across the gardens. And guess who was faster?

“Dearest, I just told them how much of a smashing sister you are.” Nigel said, turning to Evie. Evie rolled her eyes playfully, as if she didn’t believe him. At that moment, a fanfare was played throughout the entire room.

“That must be the ceremony, Nigel,” Shu informed, facing him. “We better head out into the back,”

“Alright.” Nigel nodded, driving towards Shu. “You ladies have a smashing time. We’ll be back shortly.”

“Okay, brother, see you later.” Evie beamed.

Shu and Peach exchanged a smile before the two racers drove away.

From around them, the PA spoke. The female voice chimed happily around the welcome party.

“Ladies and Gentlecars, Sir Miles Axlerod!”

Miles approached on one of the largest platforms, a beautiful clear waterfall running down from behind him, like an invisible silken curtain. Miles beamed, pleased to see the outcome of his event coming to life. With a huge breath, he spoke with pride.

“It is my absolute honour to introduce to you the competitors in the first ever World Grand Prix. From Brazil, Number 8-”

Miles’ voice trailed away. Peach’s eyes caught on the crimson formula one racer. He was following Shu, Nigel and the other racers. His deep hypnotic eyes locked with Peach for a time, and she couldn’t pull her gaze from him. He smiled and gave her a wink, making her blush.

“Ahh, I see you like that Italian chap, right?” The voice of Evie drew Peach out of her trance. She shook her head for a bit and turned to Evie, who was smirking knowingly.

“What?” Peach flustered at a length. Evie giggled at her reaction.

“Don’t think I can’t see you staring at those open-fenders of his,” Evie replied, her sentence tangled slightly by her giggle. Peach felt her hood blush hotter and hotter.

“O-Open-Fender? Oh no! No, no, no…He just…startled me…that’s all,”

Eve smirked, seeing what Peach was trying to cover up. She looked up to see the racers gathering behind Miles as he spoke, and realised that Francesco was staring at Peach, smiling.

“And from England, one of our most refined racer, Nigel Gearsley!” Miles’ voice called out. Evie cheered loudly, whistling as he approached the stage, thanking everyone. Peach cheered along with her too, hoping she had forgotten about their conversation. Nigel chuckled down the microphone.

“Thank you so very much, Sir Miles. It is a smashing idea to get all of the racers together like a family. I can’t wait to get going onto those tracks!”

Miles laughed.

“I am so pleased to hear that, Nigel.”

On that cue, Nigel drove off the stage, the sound of the cheers made him smile. Nigel drove onto another platform nearby, greeting the other racers who have already been called up. He smiled and they all smiled back. They were Carla, Rip and Jeff.

“Next up, we have the famous racer, also known as the faster racer alive, Number one, Francesco Bernoulli!” Miles called out.

A great cheer went up from the platform, as Francesco rolled onto the stage, smirking, allowing the crowd to check him out before talking to Miles. At that point, Peach frowned and looked away.  

“Ah, I see.” Evie smirked teasingly. “But he seems to be very interested in you, Peachy.”

Peach stuttered for a comeback for a moment, before finally, she turned her gaze away from Francesco, who was too busy talking to Miles. Giving up, she pouted and looked away.

“He probably does that with all of the girls…” Peach uttered lowly. Evie smiled softly, sensing the growing doubt in Peach. Instantly, she knew Peach hasn’t been exposed to so many people, and to have loud arrogant people like Francesco around her, Evie couldn’t help but feel that Shu felt threatened by him with the way he approaches to her.

“Ah, we’ll see Peach. You’re a very pretty car,” Evie told her. Peach stared at her, but her large blue eyes told her she was being serious. Peach took a deep breath, settling down.

“T-Thank you…” She said faintly.

“And now, from Japan, Number seven, Shu Todoroki!”

Shu approached the platform, smiling calmly at the crowd before him. His eyes searched for Peach, and smiled to see her so happy.

“Thank you for this, Miles-San,” Shu commented, bowing down. Miles grinned.

“And it is an absolute honour to have a respectable racer such as yourself, Shu.”

Shu looked up, seeing Peach and Evie in the distance, and he smiled again.

“Miles, I would like to announce this. I dedicate all of my wins to my little sister, Peach-Chan. She is my ticket to my victories. My good-luck charm.”

“Peach?” Miles blinked, and then chuckled as the crowd cooed happily. At that moment, Shu pointed at Peach from the distance, and the crowd turned around to see Peach shyly smiling. Shu watched her with pride.

“How delightfully sweet,” Miles commented.

“I also dedicate them to my crew-chief, Mach-Sensei,” Shu added. Peach felt her grin fade a little. She knew how Shu became a racer, but her feelings about Mach were not so clear, but she knew one thing. In the sounds of that cheer, under the pats and congratulations Shu was receiving, she knew Shu was happy, and that’s all that mattered to her. Shu gave the audience one more bow before joining the rest of the racers.

Peach’s musing was interrupted by the sight of an unusual car driving towards her. Peach paused. She appeared to be some sort of news-reporter, or a journalist, her paintjob the shade soft pastel-blue. Thick-framed glasses rested on her hood, and she was making her way to Peach and Evie. She didn’t have a sea of camera-crew around her, so Peach eased a little more.

“Hello,” The journalist spoke. Her voice had hints of a German accent, her chassis taking form of a typical GM Motorama show car.

“Oh hi,” Evie greeted.

“Hello, my name is Ivy. I am a reporter vor a Race-Magazine, Von-Clutch. I understand that you two are sibling to the famous racers Nigel Gearsley and Shu Todoroki, ya?” The Motorama journalist said.

Von-Clutch? Peach blinked at the name. She never heard of it before…

“Von-Clutch? Then again, I was never one to go for magazines. Yep, butthead Nigel’s my older brother,” Evie grinned. Peach and Ivy giggled.

“Do you two mind if I can ask you some questions please?” Ivy smiled.

“Sure!” Evie said. Peach simply nodded. Ivy then began search for something until finally, she obtained a small black-box.

“Vat are your names, by the vay?”

“I’m Evie, and this is Peach,” Evie said, before Peach could answer. They exchanged smiles. Ivy then began to record the conversation. She placed it by her mouth, and began to ask questions.

“So tell me Evie, how long has Nigel been a racer for?”

“Erm, Nigel has been a racer for…” A pause. “…ten years, I think.” Evie grinned. “It runs through our family. Our dad raced and our mum did a little. I do also,”

“Interesting,” Ivy smiled, her auburn eyes flicking to Peach. “Peach, sister of Todoroki, tell me: How did Shu become a racer? I heard your family come from the Mountain Asama,”

It was then Peach’s mind fogged out, numbing the world around her. The mention of Shu’s beginning made her eyes tighten, but no more.

“Peach?” Ivy questioned, bringing Peach out of her thoughts. Peach shook her head.

“Oh, my apologies,” Peach quickly spluttered. She opened her mouth to answer Ivy’s question, but was sharply interrupted by a yell that startled everyone. From behind them, a rusty Tow-Truck rushed down to the ground-level of the building, screaming, eyes wide with horror and tongue hanging out. He rushed past Ivy, narrowly missing her and the Tow-Truck hurried to the stage, splitting Lightening McQueen and Miles from their conversation and began to gulp large amounts of the water from the water-fountain feature behind Miles. For a time, Miles and McQueen stared in growing horror at the Tow-Truck as he drank nosily. Peach stared, disgust evident on her face and the crowd began to fill with utters of disgust or laughter. When McQueen looked back at the audience, Peach followed his gaze. From the stage of the other contestants, she saw the reactions of Shu and his fellow racers. Shu’s eyes narrowed furiously, repulsion obvious in his broad features as he shook his hood. He regarded McQueen as he would regard a smear of half-eaten bread on the floor. Next to him, Francesco howled with laughter, completely amused with McQueen’s public display of humiliation.

McQueen appeared to be awkward. The Tow-Truck huddled down to the microphone, looking exhausted. He spoke with an American accent Peach couldn’t identify.

“Whatever you do, do _not_ eat the free pistachio ice-cream,” He paused. “It has turned!” The microphone screeched.


	4. Chapter 3:  The Blossoming Friendships

**Chapter 3:**

**The Blossoming Friendships**

Peach’s jaw dropped. Beside her, Ivy began to laugh hard, banging her tyre on the floor.

“Oh bloody hell!” Evie cried out, her sentence tangled with laughter, and Peach could faintly decode what she was saying. “That poor truck!” Ivy and Evie kept laughing, and slowly the ambience of the party returned. Peach tried to translate what her thoughts were, until finally:

“It is not pistachio! It is wasabi!” Peach cried in disbelief. 

Ivy screamed through her tears, still having seizures.

“Well, he’s American.” Evie said thoughtfully, reverting to her habit of swinging everything to a positive angle. “The poor chap’s probably just a little culture-confused. Like telling foreigners about black-pudding…is he leaking oil?”

All at once, the three girls perked their heads up to see the commotion.

“I’m sure McQueen vill be _so_ impressed vith that,” Ivy put in, but her words were mangled by her hysterical laughter and nobody could make much sense of them.

“That is…disturbing…” Peach said at a length, turning away. She was not much in the mood for laughing. “Is he in Lightening McQueen’s team?”

“Yes, he is. I think they’re his friends from Radiator Springs,” Evie informed.

“Radiator Springs?”

“Some place in the countryside of America. I’m not too keen on American geography, I’m afraid. Nigel told me about it, and he didn’t know about it until another racer told him and so on, and so forth.” Evie added. Ivy began to look around frantically, her laughing seizures appearing to have calmed down now. “You okay, Ivy?” Evie asked. Ivy nodded.

“Ya…just…looking…” She replied, having a few quick searches before giving up.

“Here come our brothers,” Peach sighed a breath of relief. Shu and Nigel rolled down towards them, and Peach felt much better to see a more familiar face nearby. Evie waved enthusiastically.

“Hi bro!”

“Hello there ol’ bird.” Nigel smiled, stopping beside Evie. Shu wedged himself between Evie and Peach. Shu and Peach exchanged a silent greeting, smiling.

“Nigel! Shu! I finally get to meet you two!” Ivy beamed happily, startling Shu. Nigel chuckled, amused.

“W-Who are you?” Shu asked slowly, edging away from the sudden appearance of the Motorama female.

“It’s very nice to meet you too, poppet…but yes, who are you flower?” Nigel questioned.

“I’m Ivy. I’m a…um…magazine-journalist.”

“She is a new friend of ours,” Peach added, smiling gently. Ivy smiled at Peach’s comment.  

“Yep!” Evie agreed, nodding. Shu pouted for a moment, and then nodded.

“This is all very good,” He commented. “A friend of Peach is a friend of mine,”

“What magazine do you work for?” Nigel asked.

“Von-Clutch,” Ivy said without hesitation. Nigel thought for a moment, rolling his eyes before grinning.

“I think I heard of that one, poppet, although I don’t read much these days, you know, racing and all that.”

Ivy emitted a nervous giggle. Peach cocked a brow and turned to Shu, who clearly was not amused with something. He was musing on something.

“Are you okay, Nii-Sama?” Peach asked silently.

“Lightning’s friend…”

“I know.” Peach uttered lowly.

“Well, I just think the poor chap’s confused, really,” Evie said, overhearing Shu’s comment. Shu hummed lightly to himself, not entirely agreeing with Evie.

“Poppet,” Nigel piped up, looking at a very shy Ivy. “Your voice…”

“Oh? Ya, it’s German.” Ivy informed, smiling. Evie’s eyes lit up suddenly.

“Whoa! That’s so cool! I love Germany,” Evie grinned. Ivy’s eyes flickered, amused.

“Vell, if you love Germany, vant to meet Max? He is a good friend of mine,”

“Do you mean Max Schnell?” Nigel asked Ivy. She nodded.

“If you are going to do that, I will be upstairs,” Shu spoke. “I am going to get some…” He rolled his eyes, muttering in a badly-done American accent. “…pistachio ice-cream…” He grilled through his teeth, before driving away from the cluster of friends. Peach held her giggle. Though she doesn’t like it when Shu was in a bad mood, she found his sarcastic side funny. She perfectly understood that Shu was just offended. He’s that sort of guy.

“Tell me about…Max,” Peach beamed, changing the subject back. She was already getting very excited of meeting new people. Everyone was so friendly. They all respected each other’s background(with a few exceptions) and, just like what Nigel said, they were all like a family, even if it has already been a few hours.

“Ahh, yes, smashing racer that chap is. Smart too,” Nigel said. “He made himself lighter so he could race faster,”

“Interesting,” Evie smiled.

“That is clever. How did he do that?” Peach asked.

“He simply replaced his chassis with carbon-fibre,” Nigel informed, as if it was obvious.

“That makes sense. The lighter you are, the faster you can travel,” Peach beamed, and Nigel nodded.

“That is right poppet,”

“Speak of the devil,” Ivy grinned. Nigel, Evie and Peach looked up from their conversation. Ivy used her tyre to direct their gaze. Somewhere beyond them, four racers huddled together, chatting. One was Carla, a bright blue and green le motor prototype who had the prettiest features. She was laughing at what Rip was saying. Rip appeared to be the typical ‘always-happy’ kind of guy, with bright acid-green eyes and a bright orange paintjob to suit his colourful attitude. They were also with a blue and white French Rally-Race car, Raoul, who was chatting with Rip and agreed on something with Max. Max was a Sedan, the paintjob of a soft-black. It was then he noticed the huddle of cars looking at him, and Evie was caught in a trance of his powerful blue eyes. 

Nigel nudged Evie.

“Number four,” He told her. Evie’s eyes searched up Max for a time, speechless, her hood tinted with a shade of soft pink from shyness. Peach smirked, seeing this as a perfect opportunity to get back at Evie for her comments about Francesco. She mentally made notes about Evie’s reaction.

“Oh, I see a connection!” Ivy grinned darkly. Nigel raised his brow and waved a tyre in front of her eyes, startling Evie back into reality.

“H-Huh?” Evie blinked for a moment, and turned to see the three cars staring at her with smirks. Ivy began to snicker, and Nigel had a glint in his eyes that Evie clearly knew what he was thinking. “Oh, shut it!” She blushed, turning away, embarrassed.

“Oh calm down, ol’ bird,” Nigel laughed. “We’re only teasing and having a chortle,”

Max saw the flustering car, and grinning, he turned to his other fellow racers, and indicated to them that he was going. Carla, Raoul and Rip nodded. Ivy’s eyes lit up when she saw Max making their way.

“Max! _Guten Tag_!” Ivy called out, her English tongue suddenly vanishing.

“ _Guten Tag_ , Ivy!” Max grinned happily. Evie, Peach and Nigel stared in confusion as they watched the two German cars greet each other with thick German accents. “ _Tuie geht’s_?”

“ _Mir geht’s gut, danke_!” Ivy chuckled. She opened her mouth to speak but realised that all of the cars were staring at Max and Ivy. They both stopped for a moment.

“Hello,” Max spoke after a time, his strong German accent sophisticated. At that point, Evie jumped and hid behind Nigel. Max smiled at the cute reaction, but his attention caught onto Peach. For a split second, he had mistaken her as Shu. “You are Shu’s sister, ya?” He asked her. Peach nodded.

“Yes. I am.”

Max smiled.

“You are fery lucky to have such a strong brother like Shu Todoroki,” Max commented. Peach smiled.

“Thank you so very much,” She beamed, bowing down. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Schnell.”

“Please. Call me Max!” Max gave out a fog-horn laugh. Nigel chuckled and turned to the German racer.

“Max, old bean! I haven’t seen you in ages! How have you been old chum?” Nigel greeted happily.

“It has been too long, Nigel!” Max agreed, and the two males laughed. Ivy and Peach exchanged smiles, adoring Evie’s reaction, who remained hidden behind Nigel. Max’s eyes caught on Evie, and he smiled, almost lovingly at her. “Vat a beautiful girlfriend you have,”

An awkward silence fell between the cars. Nigel stared at Max. Peach and Ivy blinked, slowly staring at Max and Evie went pale. Max saw the reactions, and instantly knew he said something wrong. It was then Ivy burst out laughing, again.

“On no, ol’ Chum! This isn’t my girlfriend!” Nigel corrected him frantically. “I’m sort of a bachelor as it were. This is my little sister, Evie,”

Evie slowly approached Max, and blushed brightly. Her eyes locked with his.

“I-It’s nice to meet you…” She managed to say.

Max felt his hood heat up quickly from shame.

“Um…ya…of course…how silly of me!” He cleared his throat. “You are still beautiful!”

“How kind of you to say such a thing to Francesco!” A voice burst out from behind Peach. Peach felt her chassis freeze to have realised whose voice that belonged to.

“Good evening, Francesco!” Nigel smiled in his permanent, pleasant attitude. Francesco was smirking as he rolled past Peach slowly, eyeing her up and down for a time before facing Nigel.

“ _Buona sera, Nigel_!” Francesco greeted, his strong Italian accent like music to Peach, and she couldn’t understand why. She looked away.

“Hello,” Max said, though his eyes harden. Like many other racers, he was envious over Francesco. Francesco saw it, and he smirked cruelly, amused.

“How are you, chap?” Nigel asked. Francesco’s smirk softened. He didn’t get the same reaction from Nigel as he did with many racers, but he respected him, as Nigel had always respected him.  He opened his mouth to reply, but stopped as he noticed something. He faced Peach, his eyes sparkled with a sinister look.       

“Where is your brother?”

“He has…gone to get something to eat,” Peach muttered under her breath, her mouth becoming dry. Max and Ivy looked at each other, exchanging smirks. They both enjoyed the drama between the two cars already. Evie saw Peach fighting between two worlds. Nigel was oblivious. 

“Ahh…he is-a gone, then?” Francesco asked, his voice much more gentle but menacing. He leaned close to Peach, and she felt like a tiny prey cornered by a predator. She stared at his heavenly-hazel eyes.

“Yes…Francesco-Sama…” She whispered. Finally, Evie came to her rescue.

“So, Francesco, what are you doing here?” She suddenly burst out. Francesco paused for a second, before facing Evie and smiled one of his trademark grins.

“Ohh, you know, talking and being amazing,” Evie giggled, and when Francesco turned back to Peach, she rolled her eyes, seeing her plan failing. Max got bored of Peach and Francesco and looked up to Evie, smiling happily to himself. “Take a good look at Francesco now. Once the race begins, you will see only a blur.”

“Okay…” Peach said at a length, unsure how to respond to such a comment. Francesco chuckled lowly, shuffling his smooth black tyres on the ground before her, almost advertising his open-wheels at her. She must admit, they were attractive to look at.

“Yeah, and that ‘Caoi McQueen’ written on ya backside,” Evie uttered. Francesco snapped a look at Evie.

“ _Si_ , and-a that too,” He said, his voice trailing away.

“So Francesco, what do you think of the new race and its three courses?” Nigel asked Francesco. Francesco seemed pleased to have all of the attention aimed at him. He chuckled, his eyes flickering from Peach to Nigel as he spoke.

“There is-a so much beautiful scenery to drive through. It-a gives Francesco something to enjoy after he’s pulled so far ahead of his competitors,”

“Of course! Japan, Italy and England.” Nigel beamed. “There is truly no place like home.”

Peach looked up and turned to Francesco.

“Italy? Is that where you come from, Francesco-Sama?”

“ _Si, si_. Francesco grew up racing on that track. He could win it blindfolded. But…” He gave her a seductive smirk. “…that would not be fair to the women who love to see Francesco’s beautiful eyes.”

Beautiful eyes, Peach agreed. Francesco had a striking face, his features perfectly symmetrical and flawless, possessed of a strange androgynous beauty; and his irises were of a brown so beautiful Peach felt her chassis soften the moment she saw them. It was as if Francesco was every woman’s dream incarnated. But his eyes held something almost deceiving, and it made Peach not fall as far as many others. The idea of Shu seeing the chemistry sparking between them would be like blasphemy.

“Uh-Huh…” Peach cocked a brow, clearly enticed by Francesco’s gaze.

“Francesco,” Ivy piped up suddenly. “How fast are you?”

Francesco gave Ivy a look that clearly meant: ‘You do not know?!’

“When Francesco was-a very young, he broke the speed-limit. They still cannot repair it.” He smirked, and everyone around him laughed. Even Peach.

“Hey lady!” A voice yelled throughout the room. The cluster of cars looked up to see McQueen’s friend, the Tow-Truck, waving eagerly to a deep-purple car. Almost in shame, the purple car darted off as the Tow-Truck hollered for her name. Ivy frowned and Francesco sniggered cruelly.

“McQueen’s best friend…” He snickered callously, as if anyone needed informing.

“I have to get off somewhere…” Ivy said suddenly, making everyone turn to her.

“Already?” Max asked, sad. Ivy shook her head.

“Don’t vorry. I vill come back.” Ivy chuckled. As she drove off, she added: “Make sure Francesco doesn’t touch Peach’s bumper,” She laughed and she was gone.

“Alright Poppet. See you soon!” Nigel called back. Then he paused, blinked for a moment to have realised what she said. “Wait-What?!”

Evie rolled her eyes.

“You are so slow,” She smirked at her brother.

“Getting old, Nigel?” Max teased, making Nigel playfully glare at him.

“I’m not old!” Nigel pouted. “Just tired…”

“Uh-Huh. Yes. Yes, brother, we believe you…” Evie smirked darkly.

Peach giggled and turned to Francesco, who was acidly glaring at someone. She followed his gaze to see he was watching McQueen talking to the Tow-Truck.

“Um…”

Francesco faced her, slowly, like a dream.

“Si?”

She flustered for a moment, before clearing her throat.

“Y-You have a very nice…” Her voice trailed, as her eyes fell from his eyes to his open-wheels again. Realising what was happening, she shook her head and looked at his eyes again, blushing. A smirk tugged at the end of Francesco’s mouth, amused. “-ACCENT!” She finally finished, dropping her voice at the last second. Francesco chuckled.

“Ah, grazi Bella. Your accent is-a very appealing too, no?”

“Ha! I bet Peach is feasting her eyes on those open-wheel, Francesco!” Max piped up, tapping his tyre with Francesco’s tyre. Francesco’s grin widened.

“Si, Francesco, he-a get’s that a lot, his open-wheels attract a lot of attention.” He chuckled. “Women respect a car that has-a nothing to hide,” He added, looking at Nigel and Max for male support. They agreed with him. Evie smirked at Peach, who gave her a glare Evie knew perfectly well what she was saying.

Shu was making his way down. He felt much more better, talking to his fellow Japanese fans and residents. Eating Wasabi and drinking Sake had calmed him down. But the moment he saw Francesco unpleasantly close to Peach, his peace was tainted and he returned to his black-mood, speeding off towards them.

“I am starving!” Max exclaimed loudly. “I’m going to eat. You guys coming?”

“What a smashing idea, chap! I’m quite famished,” Nigel agreed.

“Same here,” Evie said.

“Me too,” Peach smiled.

“Francesco agrees! Staring at a bella such as Peach has got me feeling-a quite hungry,” Francesco and Peach looked at each other, smiled, and the moment Francesco turned around, he saw the dark face of Shu glaring back at him. Francesco didn’t seem to flinch.

“Nii-Sama!” Peach smiled, glad to see him again.

“Ahh, _signore_ Shu. I was-a wondering where you had-a gotten to,” Francesco said with a cold smile. Shu said nothing.

“Let’s go, poppets!” Nigel said, and together, they all made their way upstairs, following Max and Nigel, who were the most eager to eat. Francesco smirked darkly to himself, and went to drive behind Peach, but Shu caught his gaze, and blocked him. But he heard Francesco snigger mockingly beside him and sped around him, driving beside Peach instead. Shu tried hard to contain her temper. As they got upstairs, Francesco glanced at his wing-mirror, seeing Shu frowning unhappily behind him; Francesco chuckled nastily to himself, getting very close to Peach, provoking Shu. Shu growled lowly to himself, wishing to the Gods he could attack Francesco right now…

Max turned to Peach.

“Peach, vat does Sake taste like?”

Peach blinked.

“I am not sure, Max. Perhaps we can try it together?” Peach suggested, and Max’s eyes became alive.

“Sure!”

Peach smiled, relieved to find an excuse to move away from the tension crackling between Francesco and Shu. She rushed to the counter with Max and began to order in Japanese. Max watched her, amazed and dumbfounded of her sudden change of dialect.

Francesco and Shu engaged in a long staring match. Finally, Francesco broke the silence.

“What is-a wrong, _signore_? I’m only finding your little sister…very interesting…” Francesco said coldly.

Shu stared at Francesco sharply for a moment; then his eyes returned to Peach and Max.

“Yes, but you are getting a little too close for my liking, Bernoulli…”

Francesco smirked to himself, satisfied that his needling had at last provoked a reaction. Francesco then replied in a low, menacing voice:

“Francesco admires your strength, _Signore_ Shu. You are a champion. You, like-a many of the racers, are undefeated in their racing league. In that way they are inexperience, like babies. And so, Francesco _will_ make them cry…like babies…”

Shu bit his lip to hold back his retort. Unwilling to rise to the bait, he turned from Francesco and stormed away from him in disgust. His teeth gritted behind his lips as he heard Francesco’s soft laughter follow him.

“I say, what’s wrong with those two?” Nigel asked, watching as Shu stormed away from Francesco. Evie punched Nigel’s tyre with her own, and he gave out a moan.

“It’s those strange rice-cakes!” Max blurted out suddenly, catching Evie’s and Nigel’s attention.

“Sushi…” Peach corrected him softly. Max shook his head impatiently.

“They are all the same! I’ll have some!” Max exclaimed, and began banging the counter with his tyre, catching many strange glimpses from the Japanese staff. Nigel looked up to see Ivy returning to them, but his heart dropped to see her looking sad.

“Poppet, you okay? You look down.”

It caught Peach’s and Max’s attention, and they both turned around, seeing Ivy stopping beside Nigel. Francesco and Shu looked at her.

“My…” She paused, and sighed deeply. “My brother…left me,”

“Left you?!” Nigel gasped. Peach stared in horror. Shu and Max gasped and even Francesco looked a little shocked. “That’s awful! What kind of brother does that to his sister?”

There was a long pause.

“Do you have anywhere to go?” Peach asked suddenly. Ivy looked up and her frown deepened.

“No, not really. I usually stay vith my brother.” Ivy informed. Peach pondered for a moment, and then she smiled at a thought. She turned to Shu, and already he guessed what she was going to say.

“Nii-Sama. Can Ivy-Chan stay with us please? Just for the night. Until her brother collects her, please?”

Shu looked down at Peach, who was already giving him her typical doe-eyed face. It made him smile a little.

“I do not see any harm in that. Of course she can. If she wishes,” Shu replied, and Peach almost tackled his front tyre as she hugged him, nuzzling her fender against his.

“Thank you, Nii-Sama!” She beamed happily. The idea of having new friends and having her first sleep-over seemed like a terrific idea. Ivy smiled.

“Thank you so fery much, Shu.” She said to him. “If Evie joins, ve can a slumber-party and talk about boys!” She laughed. The idea enlightened Evie, and she turned to Nigel.

“Can I, brother?” She asked. Nigel chuckled, assuming this was going to happen.

“Of course, dearest. That’s a smashing idea,” Nigel grinned. Francesco smirked darkly to himself. His idea of a girl-riddled slumber-party was a little more explicit than reality. He actually felt envious over Shu. Max chuckled, and returned back to his food. Instantly, he began to stuff countless piece of sushi into his mouth hungrily, quickly. Evie stared at him, and giggled, driving next to him.

“Are you enjoying that, by any chance, Schnell?” Evie smiled. Max turned to her and nodded quickly.

“Ah, yes! This is fery good. How do they do it?”

“It is made out of raw fish…” Shu uttered from the distance, and the idea of raw fish made Max spit the sushi out suddenly. Shu glared at him in disgust. Max had his tongue hanging out of his mouth by the time he had finished spitting out what he took in and playfully glared at Evie. Evie laughed and nudged Max.

“Ahh, suck it up. Nothing wrong with a bit of fish…even if it is raw,” Evie commented.

“Shu ate a lot of fish when he was young. He still does now,” Peach beamed. Shu nodded.

“That is very true,”

“Me and Nigel eat a lot of fish too…mind you, it’s not raw,” Evie added, giggling.

“Si, si…more like-a fried to oblivion,” Francesco prompted coolly.

“Hey! Don’t knock it ‘till you try it. I don’t make fun of your culture’s food now, do I?”

“You do not eat it raw? How do you eat it?” Peach asked, her curiosity about England’s dishes getting the better of her. Even Shu leaned in for the answer.

“Ahh, we have it battered. Oh, with lovely chips.” Nigel answered proudly. Max blinked.

“…vith a hammer?” Max asked stupidly.

“No, Max, with a fryer,” Evie corrected him. “Like you do with schnitzel…” She paused, and the thought of food made her smile. “Mmm…schnitzel,”

Shu shuddered violently at the thought of fried fish.

“I think I will stick with raw fish,” Peach commented.

“I agree, Onee-chan,” Shu said to her.

“Nigel, can I ask you something please?” Ivy asked, her voice becoming shy. Nigel nodded.

“Yes. What is it, poppet?”

“Can I touch your moustache?” She asked slowly. Nigel cocked a brow. For a moment, he was unsure how to answer, but he smiled gently.

“Sure, poppet,” he chuckled, and carefully, Ivy tapped her tyre gingerly against the black grille moustache at the front of Nigel’s fenders. The feel of it made her giggle. Evie saw this and nudged Peach, indicating to her the scene and the two girls giggled.

“It tickles,” Ivy laughed.

“Yes, I know it does, poppet,” Nigel grinned, brushing it against her playfully. Ivy squealed into a giggle-fit. Evie and Peach smirked at each other. Max was too busy inspecting the sushi on his dish. Shu and Francesco looked slightly disturbed by the public display of affection. Finally, Max gave the sushi one last sniff, before pushing it away from him, rejecting it and rolled up close to Evie. Evie blushed slightly.

“Is it really that bad, Max?” Evie smirked and Max nodded.

“How was the sake, Onee-Chan?” Shu asked, remembering something. Peach pulled a face of disgust.

“I do not understand how you could drink that, Nii-Sama,” Peach replied. “Max nearly died from the taste, and it burnt my throat. I will stick with water and green-tea,”

“Suit yourself,” Shu said, his eyes gently smiling at her. Ivy yawned loudly.

“Vell, I can say something. I’m beat,”

“I agree, Ivy,” Max replied.

“Me too,” Evie yawned slightly.

“We all have a big day ahead of us. Perhaps its best we all get a decent sleep,” Nigel suggested.

“Vell, I guess this is goodbye until tomorrow.” Max said, turning to Evie instantly. “I shall see you tomorrow, Evie,” He added softly, his voice enchanting to her. Evie blushed deeply.

“Erm…Y-Yes, okay…” She tried to speak, and caught Nigel smirking at her. Evie fumed.

“Don’t you dare!” She hissed under her breath, glaring at him. Max chuckled and made his way out of the building, waving goodbye to his new-found friends.

“He does seem to fancy you there, poppet,” Nigel said, his grin becoming mischievous.

“Oh, shut it, butthead!” Evie hissed, but she giggled.    

“ _Si_! And now, Francesco shall-a take his leave.” Francesco turned to Peach, his eyes seductive onto her. “Francesco will see you tomorrow, _la mia piccolo pesca,_ ” With that, Francesco drove around Peach, looked at Shu for a moment and gave him a dark grin. Then, Francesco smacked his tyre onto Peach’s bumper, startling her. Shu saw this and revved his engine boisterously, clearly angry, but Francesco drove away without a care in the world. The other party-guests stared at Shu, startled by his monstrous engine revs. Peach hurried over to Shu, silently hushing him to calm down. He didn’t look at her, but she parked in front of him, pitifully covering the view of Francesco away from Shu. Evie’s jaw dropped to see what Francesco did. Nigel, as usual, was oblivious.  

“Vell, at least vee got something to talk about in our slumber party,” Ivy chuckled, but was soon silent by Shu’s blazing glare. Peach watched Francesco go, and waved him goodbye shyly. Francesco was an enigma. Why did she obsess him so? And it _was_ a handsome face, he was staggeringly attractive. Perhaps this, too, contributed to the way she felt about him. There was no denying that he had a physical magnetism that was far and above anything she had felt before; but he was so rude to Shu, and she knew that beneath the surface lurked a mind that was much less handsome.

Francesco skidded by the doorway and looked back, his eyes locking with Peach’s eyes, and he soon found himself into a trance he had never entered before. Her eyes held a beauty he had never seen before. She was interesting to him. With that, Francesco smirked and blew a kiss to Peach.

Peach felt her entire hood burn, and she slowly reached out, as if catching the kiss.

 

 


	5. Chapter 4:  Wild Flowers

**Chapter 4:**

**Wild Flowers**

The sudden scent of Japanese Orchid plants flushed around her, the wooden flooring smooth with the bright paper walls-Oriental style. Inside the apartment was the style of a Tatami room, bathed in orange light. In another room, there was a single paper lantern on an antique stand burning beside a wardrobe containing several freshly-made futons.

Shu waited in the front room, observing numbly at the painted cherry-blossom paintings that hung around the room.

Ivy and Evie scanned their eyes around the room, amazed.

“This is so beautiful, Shu!” Evie exclaimed. Shu smiled and nodded.

“I am glad,” He moved his gaze from the German and British car and looked at Peach, who smiled back. “I will be going back to the party for a time. I shall leave you girls alone,” He smirked. “You have fun, okay?”

“I will, Nii-Sama,” Peach beamed. They nuzzled each other and chuckled together. “You have fun too, okay?”

“I will,” Shu replied. He said goodbye to Evie and Ivy before he left. Once Shu was gone, Evie was the first to cry out something.

“Let’s play a game!”

Peach and Ivy agreed, and throughout the night, the three cars played on games, watched the Japanese shows, occasionally asking Peach what a word meant in English, and soon, they settled down on their freshly-made futons, chatting under the burning lamp of the oriental light.

“When Shu and I were very young, we used to play tons of pranks,” Peach recalled happily, giggling.

“Like vhat?” Ivy asked, and the two cars leaned over for the answer.

“Oh, I was very small when I was young, so I used to leap out of bushes and startle Shu. But as he got older and began to meditate, startling him got harder and harder.” Peach smiled. “There was a time when I sat on his hood for a long time, waiting for him to wake up because I thought he was asleep.” She laughed. “I have never seen a car jump so high!”

The image of a startled Shu made the cluster of girls laugh together.

“So, I’m assuming life in Japan was calm?” Evie asked. Peach nodded.

“Oh yes, but very strict too.” She mentioned. “Our family traditions were still very strict. The men worked, and the women stay at home.” Peach frowned. “I always hated it when father came back home, because Shu and I would have to stop playing, finish our homework and go to bed. When he was away, mother always lets us play. She said to me once: Play while you can. For growing up is the hardest thing you will learn,” Her frown softened at the memory of her mother. “Shu and I always play, even now.”

“Wow, my mother and father had the same roles. It’s not as strict as your life,” Evie said.

“Vell, it’s different in every country, ya?” Ivy pointed out and the girls agreed.

“My father never believed in women rights…” Peach uttered, distaste dripping from her voice. “When I told father I wanted to be a racer like Shu, he laughed at me.”

“You want to become a racer?” Evie gasped. “Oh, that’s grand!”

“That is fantastic!” Ivy beamed. “You should become one,”

“I would…but what if Shu disproves of it?” Peach asked slowly. “I cannot help but feel that Shu will follow our father’s road,”

“Shu would want you to be happy,” Evie said gently.

“Ya, it vill also make Carla happy,” Ivy added.

“Carla?” Peach repeated. “Isn’t she the Brazilian racer?”

“Yep.” Evie smiled. “You know she is the only female racer in the Grand Prix. Racing is very fun. You should try it.”

Peach nodded and thought to herself. 

Before the passing of their mother, Peach had always remembered what her mother said:

“Live your dream, little Peach,”

Today was the day she will start. In her mother’s honour.

*

“Finn, vhat has happened? Vhy did you leave me?”

“Ivy, I am sorry. I had no choice. If I stayed in that party for any longer, the entire mission would have been compromised. **”**

Voices. And softness under her: a bed.

“You should have just told me,” Ivy’s voice. “Vhat do you expect me to do now?”

“It appears that you have made friends,” This one was a British male voice. Not Nigel, though. Older.

“Ya,”

“Listen, I need you to stay under cover. I have found Holley now, and we are researching with the American spy.”

“So you have found him?”

“Yes. All you have to do is to stay under cover and watch the racers closely. Report anything to me if you see something suspicious. And whatever you do, try not to lose your cover,”

Peach was vaguely aware that they were discussing something important, something to do with Shu. But her mind refused to focus, and the sweet, cloying bed was dragging her back down towards sleep again.

“Have you heard anything about Professor Z?” Ivy asked mutely.

“Not yet. He was at the party though with those thugs back from the Oilrig,” came the male voice.

A long pause. Then Ivy’s voice.

“Do you think our mission is a lot more bigger than vhat ve are expecting, Finn?”

“I don’t know, Ivy,” A pause. “I really don’t know,”

If other words were said, Peach didn’t hear them. She had felt Shu shuffle closer to her in his sleep, pressing himself against her to keep her warm and safe, like he has always done since she was a young car. It drifted her back into sweet oblivion, and for a time, she forgot all about the world.


End file.
